Television has the potential to affect children in many negative ways. Too much of it can cause children to be obese, act out aggressively, have troubles developing mentally, and even distort their sense of reality. Parents need to regulate the amount of time their children spend watching television, as well as be wary of what sort of television content their children are being exposed to.
However, there could be a ton of other possible explanations why children these days are more obese, aggressive, socially incompetent and so on. Who is to say that television can cause all of this? It sounds a little ridiculous. Children could be more obese these days because of the fast food industry, which is bigger now than it ever was. All that MSG and fat really add up when you eat fast food three or more times a week, which is becoming more and more common for the average American family. As for aggression goes, there have been some studies done that show that there is absolutely no correlation at all between television violence and actual violence in children. The things that children see on television—especially violence—does not affect them to act out aggressively in real life situations. In fact, it has been hypothesized that children who watch more television are actually better off than those who hardly watch any at all. The constant onslaught of new information, pictures, colors etc that television provides actually helps to increase the rate of brain development, thus causing television-viewing children to be more cognitively adept than their average peer.
With all of these positive things that can come from allowing children to watch television, it is a shame that some parents limit its use in the home. Perhaps schools should consider using television more as a means of helping children progress in their education. After all, there are a lot of programs and educational videos on the market that are available for the purpose of educating children. Do you want a super-genius for a child? Try giving television a try, and see for yourself what happens! You won’t be disappointed.
However, how does the fast food industry get out the news about their food and how good it is? Through advertising! Which, in turn, occurs through mostly television. I know you don't believe in this, I would just giving you something else to support your real argument :)
ReplyDelete(Back in High school) I hate when you're watching a movie that is based on a true story or real life events, and someone walks out because their parents say it is inappropriate and they don't want them watching it. HELLO!!! This is real life. Bad things happen. Would you rather have a child who is completely clueless and get's themselves into bad situations in the future. Educational movies are good.
ReplyDeleteI think it is true that children could be partly obese because of the increase in unhealthy food consumption. I am sure this isn't the only reason, but definitely a contributing factor.
ReplyDeleteLike everything in life I think TV has its place and can be beneficial in moderation. It really is a powerful learning tool and great form of entertainment, but it's one of those things that needs strict limits.
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